


Dunhill black

by ginandtectonic



Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: A lot of them - Freeform, Alternate Universe - Celebrity, Celebrity AU, Fluff, Fluff and Smut, Idol Vernon, M/M, Make-up Artist!Seungkwan, Smoking, a bit of slow burn, idol cameos, mingyu being the best big bro, this is very self-indulgent, verkwan feels
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-30
Updated: 2021-02-07
Packaged: 2021-03-17 03:22:24
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 10,215
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29093427
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ginandtectonic/pseuds/ginandtectonic
Summary: Seungkwan has been working in the entertainment industry as a make-up artist for the past two years. He always kept his professionalism in all situations, and he was good at his job. However, a chance meeting with Vernon, an idol whom he never met before, after a pub crawl turned south made him start to reconsider whether dating idols was a bad idea. After all, maybe his brother, Mingyu, got it all wrong.
Relationships: Boo Seungkwan/Chwe Hansol | Vernon
Kudos: 33





	1. One

It took Seungkwan one hour, 15 minutes and 3 beers to realise that maybe joining a pub crawl hours before he would have to wake up to go to work was not his brightest idea.

The logic behind this decision was simple. It was late November, exam season was coming up and he was merely trying to let loose for one final time before all he would know for the next few weeks was biochemistry. It seemed like a sound decision, especially since bar crawls in first year were hot messes of drinking jagerbombs for cheap.

However, this particular bar crawl proved to be completely different from all those he experienced in his university career. First of all, the organization seemed even a bigger hot mess thank your regular bar crawl, the next locations picked at random. Second of all, the people involved were simply strange. Maybe it was the fact that he hung out only with English literature students, but he felt like they were all judging him. He did not know what to make of it. Would they punch him in the face before the last destination? It wasn’t unheard of. Drunk people tend to do stupid things.

Seungkwan started questioning his safety at around the second bar, when some of the guys started looking at him conspicuously. He felt the looks were laced with malice, and maybe they were just on the look-out for a target to mess with after the last stop. He didn’t particularly care about being roughed up by some students who didn’t really leave the teenage dramatics behind them. However, Seungkwan didn’t really feel like going to the ER just a few hours before having to go to his job.

And now here he was. Trying to drift away from a crowd of messy 20-year-olds downing beers and jagerbombs like there was no tomorrow. He had a beer in his hand, and he was slowly trying to blend in with the rest of the crowd of Le Fumoir. As far as clubs in the student area in central Seoul went, this was by far the poshest of them all. There were lounges on the upper floor and the prices were generally higher than your average student bar. Additionally, everything looked done in good taste, with leather couches on both floors, a generous alcohol shelf and what he assumed was a mahogany bar top.

Some of the lights were lit up, but only to give out the illusion of coziness. The design was minimalist, with some decorations trying to give it a lively feel. It was all leather and wood with white coating over it. Seungkwan was definitely dressed for a club rather than a posh bar with his deep blue shirt was unbuttoned at the top and his black skinny jeans with several cuts across them did not fit the standard. Moreover, he completed the look with a chunky metal necklace and his trusted rings. At the very least he decided to go with minimalist make-up, because he just hated having to take it off while the world was spinning around him.

Seungkwan felt like they might notice if he suddenly disappeared. One of the organizers had his phone number – it was part of the RSVP process. He should’ve given them a fake one, but sometimes he doesn’t think things through. He started to feel mild panic, thinking of as many scenarios as he could regarding what might happen if he just left them behind here.

Before his mind could go in a frenzy, Seungkwan felt a tap on his right shoulder blade. Startled, he turned around to a face which was definitely not that of a stranger.

“I thought I recognised you when I was ordering beers.” the man said in jovial tone.

“Changkyun-? I haven’t seen you in a long time, it’s good to see you.” Seungkwan responded, relieved that he may have just found his ticket out of the bar crawl.

They clasped their hands in a familiar salute which they held for a few moments. Seungkwan then tried to look more clearly at Changkyun, who was holding a lot of beer bottles, in the dim lights of the bar. He was dressed in a simple black shirt, the top two buttons being strategically left unbuttoned and jeans that fit his figure well. The outfit seemed inconspicuous, definitely meant to throw off anyone who might recognise him as I.M from Monsta X, one of the heartthrob boy groups of South Korea. But Seungkwan could easily tell it was him.

“You with that crowd?” Changkyun inquired, nodding his head in the general direction of the pub crawlers.

“Yeah… kind of.” he answered.

“You don’t seem too pleased with that crowd, do you?” his brother’s friend asked, searching for any sign of discomfort on Seungkwan’s face.

“Not really. I’m scared they might stab me or something.” Seungkwan replied truthfully.

Changkyun glanced at the crowd, then made his call. “They do seem a bit sketchy. Well, you are in a bit of a luck here. Mingyu is here. If they try to contact you, you can just say you bumped into him while you were at the toilet and decided to catch up with him.”

Seungkwan stopped for a second, taking all of the information in. His assumption was right, Changkyun just gave him the golden ticket to get away from this situation. And in this case, his golden ticket was his own older brother.

“My brother is here? How come you decided to hang out at a student bar?” he asked, knowing fully well his brother’s inner circle of friends.

“The prices are better than the places in Gangnam. Plus, the lounges have nice couches. Shall I take you to our lounge, then?”

“Yes, please.” Seungkwan pleaded. “Thank you.” he added, barely above a whisper.

Changkyun turned around, then started walking away from the pub crawlers and towards what Seungkwan presumed were the stairs. Seungkwan followed closely, trying to disappear as soon as he could into the shadows. He wanted to ask Changkyun if he could help with the beers, but he already had one in his hand and he was just mildly scared of potentially dropping the beers on the stairs. He wasn’t exactly sober.

Changkyun was one of the many good friends of his brother who just so happened to be a celebrity. Seungkwan had always expected that it would take him a very long time to adjust to his brother’s celebrity status, but it took him a very short time. His job was definitely the main catalyst of his adjustment.

Seungkwan’s job was that of a freelancer make-up artist for celebrities in the entertainment industry. Such a feat was the result of a stroke of luck, his artistry and his credentials. He was the youngest on the job wherever he went, yet he was always praised for his artistry, as well as his friendly attitude towards his clients. It just so happened that most of his work was with idols, because the timing for such schedules was just perfect and most of the schedules were in the inner city area of Seoul.

This was the main reason why this was not his brightest idea. He had to be at 5:30am on the grounds of the Music Core studio, ready to do make-up and do re-touches until 5pm. What made going out tonight even more of a bad idea was the fact that his services had been requested for one of the members of Exo, a group of great seniority which Seungkwan himself liked and admired a lot. Hence, he couldn’t really afford a black eye, which is why he was so grateful that Changkyun found him.

They climbed up the stairs, which were thankfully wide, and then turned left after they reached the upper floor. Seungkwan scanned the area and noticed that it was quite full. There was a buzz made out of overlapping chatter from all directions of the upper floor. The lighting was similar to the one on the lower floor, but instead of harsh white cold lighting, this one was warmer, more soothing, which invited the guests of this floor to remain here for a long time and keep talking and buying. Most people seemed to be dressed similarly to him and Changkyun, which made him relieved as he wouldn’t attract unwanted attention.

Following Changkyun, he noticed his brother, Mingyu, in deep discussion with the other people sitting around their table. His back was turned to Seungkwan. He had a beer in his hand, but he didn’t seem even tipsy. He also seemed to wear a plain black shirt, which means he was definitely attempting to blend in and succeeding at it too.

“Lads, look what the cat dragged in.” Changkyun boasted loudly, making Mingyu and the person sitting next to him turn around and the other raise their heads from their phones or drinks.

Mingyu’s eyebrows shot up in surprise, then a genuine smile was plastered on his face. He put the beer he was holding on the table and stood up, rounding up the couch. He walked to Seungkwan and, without even allowing the latter to say hi, hugged him tightly. Mingyu then lowered his mouth and kissed him in the air around the cheek a few times, letting Seungkwan finally breathe afterwards. However, Mingyu’s hands were still sitting on his younger brother’s shoulders.

“Oh my god, Kwannie. I’ve missed you so much. Come join us, it’s a really fun table this one.” he spoke quickly, moving his left hand so he could guide his younger brother to the couch.

Seungkwan bowed deeply the moment he reached the edge of the couch, since he was most likely the youngest at the table. The other people at the table, eight in number, also bowed their heads before Seungkwan took a seat next to his brother. The couch was indeed very comfortable to sit on, which made him relax just a bit more.

He took a swig from his beer and decided to look around at his brother’s mates. There were six men and two women, all trying to hide the fact that their focus changed on him ever since he took his seat. He knew five of them, all idols he worked for in the past, with the exception of Changkyun, who was one of Mingyu’s friends since he rose to celebrity status and therefore knew him before he worked for him. The two women, who were sitting right on the opposite side of the table from him, were part of the two biggest girl groups these days. However, the only thing that stood out from their appearance was the red lipstick. Seungkwan assessed that it was probably was Dior Rouge in shade 999, one of his favourites, and they either both took his suggestion the last time he saw both of them or they shared it with each other.

“Seungkwan-ssi?” one of the two ladies asked, her eyes crinkling from her toothy grin. “I have not seen you since May. I’m so glad to see you are doing well.” she added, taking Seungkwan’s hand which was not on the beer in hers.

“You know him too, Nayeon?” the other woman piped up, her head turned to the left. Then she turned her head to Seungkwan. “It’s great that you decided to join us, honestly.” Seulgi added.

“Yes, Seulgi. He did my make-up for a lot of music shows. He is one of the best.”

“I agree with that, I saw the work he did for Yeri for our latest comeback. I loved it.”

Then they resumed the conversation Seungkwan seemed to had interrupted, which was fine by him. He took another swig of the beer, turning his attention to the other six men. Out of the six he knew Yugyeom, whose bangs seemed to fall in his face and therefore had to take them away from his eyes every once in a while in a very calculated move. He worked quite a few times with his group, they had an amazing sense of humour and they always made him laugh hard. Besides Changkyun there was also Johnny, with whom he enjoyed practicing his English whenever he was assigned to him, which happened a lot when he worked with NCT. It was good to have familiar faces, it made him feel less uneasy.

That is because he did feel uneasy. There were still three men at the table he did not know at all. To him, they all looked intimidating. But out of the three of them, only one was staring at him like Seungkwan was a potential enemy, or at the very least an unwanted intruder. He was even more intimidating than the other two and the only person at the table who stood out in any way. He was wearing red tinted glasses and he was looking at him over them. Seungkwan felt uneasy, but at the same time he felt like challenging the stare just for the sake of it.

“You are Mingyu’s brother, right?” one of the other two unknown men asked him, glass filled with what Seungkwan presumed was whiskey in his hand.

Seungkwan broke the staring contest, now looking at the man who asked him the question. He had jet black hair and he seemed to contemplate something. The other unknown man had silver hair and he appeared as if seduction was his ace up his sleeve. Seungkwan had been in these circles for two years now, he could tell what an idol’s charm was from a once-over. They weren’t exactly subtle about that.

“Yeah. I’m Seungkwan. And you are…?”

“Oh, right. Completely forgot my manners. Apologies. My name is Seungcheol. My mate here is Joshua, and the guy with the glasses is Vernon.” Seungcheol replied, holding out his hand in the general direction of the other two.

Seungkwan bowed his head, the three men bowing their heads in return. Seungkwan noticed he only had a little beer left in his bottle, so he downed what was left of it and put it back on the table. Well, now he was out of alcohol at a table with strangers who will probably want to ask questions. He was overcome by a sense of dread, as he had now no distractions.

“You can take one of the bottles Changkyun just brought up. All of them are on me.” Johnny interjected, pointing to the 4 bottles of beer sitting in the middle of the table.

“Thanks” Seungkwan responded, reaching for one of the beer bottles.

“Yugyeomie, can you please please buy me and Seulgi another two Cosmos?” Nayeon suddenly pleaded, pouting her lips.

Yugyeom sighed. “Fine, Nayeon. But I need cash or a contactless card.”

Nayeon held a card between two of her fingers, extending her hand to Yugyeom. “Does anyone need anything else? Seems like I am going on a booze run and miss Im is offering.”

“Yeah, can you get me a vodka and redbull? I feel like switching up.” Changkyun requested.

“Make that two.” Joshua added.

“Alright. Mingyu, Seungkwan, want anything special or are you sticking to beer?”

Seungkwan, who already finished half of his new beer, rolled it around on the table, contemplating the options. He didn’t want to overstep his welcome. His brother already refused another drink, two beers already in front of him.

“If you’re worrying about me paying, don’t. I’m offering.” Nayeon interrupted his line of thoughts as if she read his mind.

“Thank you.” he muttered. Then, he turned to Yugyeom “Yeah, can you get me a Whiskey and Cola? Thanks.”

“You got it. See ya in a bit.” Yugyeom said, slowly moving in the space between the table and the couch to get out of the area so he could order downstairs.

The night already seemed far better than what he anticipated only 20 minutes ago. At best, he wouldn’t have to worry about not getting home in one piece. At worst, he will go hungover to work. That he could manage.

“So what do you do, Seungkwan-ssi?” Seungcheol enquired, taking a small sip out of his whiskey.

“I’m a second-year biochemistry student. I also work on the side as a celebrity make-up artist.”

“Really?” Vernon piped up. This was the first time Seungkwan heard his voice. It was deeper and smoother than he had expected. Seungkwan decided he liked it, although he could not explain why.

“Yeah. I mainly work with idol groups.” Seungkwan added.

“You didn’t know Seungcheol, Joshua or Vernon though. They are in an idol group too.” Mingyu pointed out, just as a matter of fact.

“Really? I haven’t worked for them. Probably their company doesn’t work with freelancers or there simply was a lack of chance to work together.” Seungkwan answered.

“Yeah, we’re in a group called Seventeen. Well, there’s actually nine of us, but yeah. You might’ve heard of it.” Seungcheol informed him.

“I probably have, but I never really put a name to faces. Glad to have the chance to do so now.” Seungkwan said, taking another swig from his beer.

Yugyeom returned just then with the drinks, attempting to balance all of them together. Nayeon helped him put them all on the table, trying their hardest not to have any of them accidentally spill. After all of the drinks were on the table, Seungkwan reached for his Whiskey and Cola and placed it next to his beer. While he was doing it, he felt like someone was watching him intensely. What was stranger was that he liked that. Maybe he started finally getting tipsy and the alcohol was making him feel things he normally wouldn’t.

After the painful introductions, he fell in a really intense conversation with everyone sitting at the table about many topics, from some light gossip about some actors it was written about in the tabloids to music to fashion. Everyone seemed to be really invested in the conversation with the exception of Vernon, who would only interject from time to time with something brief, yet insightful. He seemed far more interested in the many shots of vodka he had amassed in front of him. Also, he seemed interested in gawking from time to time at Seungkwan, and the latter had no clue what to make of it.

He also managed to explain to Mingyu and what happened with the pub crawl. Mingyu thanked Changkyun for spotting his little brother and taking him to their lounge. He knew how uni students could act up like mindless idiots, so he took the threat very seriously. He was also thankful that his little brother was far less confrontational than he was in his uni days. That was a true blessing.

Halfway through his whiskey and cola, Suengkwan suddenly felt the urge to smoke. He expected it to come far earlier on. After all, he had already been at the table for almost an hour and a half now. However, he felt far more tipsy now and therefore his urge to smoke was immense. The only course of action was to leave the table for a bit and go smoke at the designated space downstairs.

Therefore, he decided to tap his brother on the shoulder, grabbing his attention from something Seulgi was showing him on the phone. Mingyu turned his face to him, shooting up an eyebrow. Seungkwan responded by holding his pointer and middle fingers in front of his lips, a small distance in between them, and wiggle them back and forth a bit. The classic ‘I need a smoke’ gesture, which Mingyu fully understood as he used it himself for years.

“Vernon? Could you please go with my brother so he can smoke? I trust you can throw a mean punch if someone ill-intentioned approaches him.” Mingyu requested, a look of expectation on his face.

“Yeah, sure, absolutely. No problem at all.” Vernon replied, stumbling on his own words.

Just as finished speaking, Vernon shot up from the couch and started moving slowly to exit the lounged. Mingyu clasped his hands and mouthed his many thanks to Vernon for helping him out. Seungkwan also rose up from the couch, following Vernon to the stairs. He looked behind at his brother, who seemed engrossed in a conversation with Yugyeom.

“So, what happened that your brother needs me to join you for a smoke?” Vernon asked, taking his first step down the stairs.

“Came here with a pub crawl. Some of the guys were sketchy and kept looking at me.” Seungkwan replied.

“Ah, I see. Well, I guess fate worked in your favour today to land you in the same bar with your brother. He’s one of the real ones.” Vernon added, skipping the last step and taking the turn to the designated smoking area.

“Yeah, you could say that.”

Although it was cold outside, neither men could feel the cold when they stepped in the designated smoking area. It was nothing fancy, just an area with a bench and a horizontal pole you could sit against. Yet, to Seungkwan, it was more than enough.

He put his hand in his back pocket and grabbed a larger box. He opened it and found the two items he needed. He grabbed one black cigarette from the pack alongside his lighter and then shut it, shoving it right back in his jeans’ pocket. He put the filter of the cigarette in between his lips and tried to make his lighter work. Once. Twice. Three times. The bloody thing seemed to not budge.

“Need any help with that?”

Seungkwan nodded, handing the lighter over to Vernon. The mechanism on this particular lighter was particularly tricky in general, and the only reason Seungkwan owned it was because it was given to him by someone a few days ago. His usual lighter was in his work bag, sitting on the table at his home.

Vernon got closer to Seungkwan, trying to block any potential wind that might put out the light. He pressed on the mechanism, cupping his hands around the light. Seungkwan inched closer, holding now the cigarette between two of his fingers while the filter was still inside his mouth. As he saw the tip of the black cigarette burning, he inhaled from the cigarette until he knew it would not go bust.

He exhaled the smoke, holding the cigarette in between his fingers close to his face. As smoke came out of his mouth, he looked straight into Vernon’s eyes. They were beautiful, a brown colour which had golden reflexes just around the exterior of them. Seungkwan decided he liked Vernon’s eyes a lot. He could see himself losing himself in them, even for just a short while.

“Thanks.” he replied with a raspy voice.

Vernon handed him the lighter back, Seungkwan putting it in his front pocket. Vernon moved to the side, sitting against the pole. Seungkwan copied his move, taking another drag from his cigarette.

“I’ve rarely seen black cigarettes.” He mused.

Seungkwan chuckled. “That’s because you can’t really find them on the Korean market. They’re Sobranie Black Russians.”

“Really? Then how do you get them?” Vernon grilled him, genuinely curious.

“One of my friend’s flatmates is a Russian exchange student and she visits her parents every other week. She doesn’t smoke, so she buys as many cigarettes as she is allowed to and then sells them. Kind of a common scheme at uni, actually.” He answered, truthfully.

Vernon seemed to be in deep thought about that. “Interesting. Well, are these good?”.

Seungkwan nodded. “Yeah. I tend to only smoke them on a night out though. I generally smoke Dunhill black. Those are really strong.”

Vernon nodded, looking in the distance. Seungkwan seemed like an alright guy to his standards, and that already placed him pretty high in his appreciation list. Seungkwan appeared demure, yet with a mysterious aura around him Vernon simply could not wrap his head around. There were dimensions to Seungkwan and he wanted to discover them.

“So you are a biochem student, right? Is that like medicine?” he inquired.

“Not really.” Seungkwan retorted.

“What do you plan to do with that? Like, after you finish the degree?” Vernon quizzed him, although a bit more careful now. He knew nothing about the area, and while he was very interested, he did not want to appear completely out of his depth.

“Cosmetics research. More specifically, work on an improved version of synthetic mica, which is also cheaper.” Seungkwan replied, taking another drag from his cigarette.

Seungkwan turned around, leaning his back against the pole. He pursed his lips around the filter of his cigarette, deep in thought about how to approach the discussion.

“What’s that?” Vernon inquired.

“Well, allow me to explain it in simple terms. Mica is a chemical compound which is similar to talc. You can find it in most powder cosmetics, especially eyeshadow. Following me up so far?”

Vernon nodded. The discussion indeed was far deeper, just as he anticipated. And he loved that. Seungkwan’s eyes sparkled with interest. Maybe he finally found someone who at least feigned excitement at the prospect at hearing about his research. This made Vernon happy, as this meant Seungkwan started to trust him.

“There is currently on the market a form of synthetic mica which performs comparatively as the original. However, it’s far more expensive than the natural mica.”

“Then why not just use natural mica?” Vernon interrupted.

“Two reasons.” Seungkwan riposted, raising 2 fingers from the hand which did not hold his cig. He took another drag. “One. Mica is a compound which is only found in mines that are not the safest. Two, well-documented child labour that is paid scraps in places such as India to mine mica. Ethical sourcing of it is close to none.”

“I see. So what you want to do with your research is find a cheaper way to make it synthetically so that companies are less likely to buy the product of child labour?” Vernon resumed.

“Bingo.”

“What about the families that won’t even make the little money they were making off of it?”

Seungkwan paused, albeit briefly. Vernon pointed out a clear criticism of his plan, one which he himself had tried to deal with in the past.

“There is no clear-cut answer to that. My idea? Train the working population of that region and create labs to make synthetic mica there. Sounds simplistic, but that’s what I’ve been thinking.” Seungkwan replied.

“I see. Well, since you’re still in uni, still got plenty of time to think of that, am I right?” Vernon retorted, a grin on his face.

“Yeah.”

A comfortable silence fell between the two of them. Seungkwan finished his cigarette, pressing the filter repeatedly against a tray placed especially to get rid of finished cigarettes. He wished he could somehow prolong the conversation with Vernon in some way, it was going in a direction it did not expect it to return. Alas, they had to return upstairs. Mingyu would be worried sick if he didn’t show up soon.

“It’s quite chilly, don’t you think?” Seungkwan wondered.

“Yeah. We are both definitely underdressed for the weather. Shall we go back inside?” Vernon pointed to the inside of the bar.

Seungkwan nodded, moving away from the pole. Vernon walked right next to him, making light chatter about the other people at their table. Somehow, they started talking about his brother’s music. Seungkwan wasn’t generally irritated when someone brought up his brother’s music. He liked Mingyu’s music quite a lot, it was right up his alley. Moreover, Vernon was knowledgeable of music, which made the chat far more insightful. Seungkwan liked someone who could take a normal conversation and turn it into a deep one. Seungkwan’s interest in Vernon was definitely increasing as the night passed on. He no longer seemed intimidating, but rather as someone easy to talk to. He liked that.

They returned to the table, taking the seats they left behind. During their short hiatus, the table seemed to have been filled with many shots of vodka and tequila. Everyone seemed far more loose than ten minutes ago, which was a clear sign everyone was now tipsy.

“Welcome back, you two. You missed quite a lot.” Joshua begun their update on the situation. According to him, there was now a three-way battle of who could outdrink the other between Johnny, Changkyun and Seulgi. So far none of them budged, all three heavy drinkers who could last for hours.

Seungkwan grabbed a new bottle of beer, drinking it in just a few gulps. He kept talking to Vernon and Nayeon over the table, sometimes keeping tabs on Mingyu talking to Seungcheol, while Joshua was fully engrossed in the drinking battle. Things settled in a calm Seungkwan enjoyed.

The spirits were high even at 2am. Johnny and Seulgi were still going strong in their drinking battle. He lost the sense of time in his conversations to the degree in which he didn’t even notice until he opened his phone to check texts how late it was. Sadly for him, it was time to leave to work. His house was at least 20 minutes away from Le Fumoir, and he had to freshen up, change, check his make-up kit and take a cab to the MBC Studios.

“Well, I sadly have to leave you now. I have work in about 3 hours and there is no way I can make it there in one piece unless I leave now.” Seungkwan stated, regret in his voice.

Everyone protested at first, as it was sudden, but they all understood the situation. Everyone said their farewells, thanking Seungkwan for joining them and hoping they would see him soon. Vernon waved his hand, wishing him good luck at work. Seungkwan wanted to tell him he hoped he could talk to him soon, but he decided against it. Mingyu also stood up from the couch, deciding to stay with his little brother until the cab arrived.

As they climbed down the stairs, Mingyu asked him about how he felt about tonight and whether he enjoyed it. Seungkwan told him he did, although keeping it brief. His brother did not need to know that he found himself interested in Vernon, and not just as a friend. He decided to talk more about how Nayeon’s laugh was the best thing ever, which Mingyu agreed to.

Sitting in front of the bar’s entrance, right beside the curb, Mingyu hugged him again tightly. He loved his little brother a lot, therefore he always tried to protect him from harm to the best of his abilities.

“Take care of yourself, alright? And good luck tomorrow. Not that you need it, you’ll nail it as always.” his brother encouraged him and Seungkwan nodded.

Seungkwan stepped into the cab, instructing the driver where to drop him off. He pulled out his phone, checking out the texts he had been missing. There were a couple of them from a coursemate who was asking him about one of the workshops they had a couple of weeks ago and texts from Soonyoung about his obsession with the latest TV show he decided to binge.

After he entered his home, stumbling over the rug at the entrance on which an ominous ‘welcome’ was written, he went to the kitchen to drink some water to try to forcefully sober himself up. He was scrolling through his messages to check the final details from the management team of Exo for his job three hours from now when it finally hit him.

Vernon never asked for his phone number. Maybe he wasn’t that interested after all and all of it was in Seungkwan's head.


	2. two

As Seungkwan was trying to not fall asleep in the middle of the cab that was taking him to the MBC Studios for work, his mind started drifting back to the events that took place only a few hours ago. More specifically, to Vernon’s eyes. He couldn’t get them out of his head. Even as he was trying his hardest back at his apartment to not stumble into something out of drunkenness, he was thinking about Vernon’s eyes. They captivated him and now he was stuck in a continuous loop of filling the dead moments with his beautiful face.

He exited the cab, then waited for the driver to open the boot for him. After this, he picked up the suitcase in which all of his work make-up was and put it onto the ground. He gave a tip to the driver and checked the time on his watch. It was only 5 a.m, which was good in case the artist’s managers wanted to give them a debrief on a more elaborate look.

Seungkwan was walking fast to the entrance, trying to keep his suitcase balanced and not let it tip over. It was a four-wheel one, and sometimes, when he didn’t pay any attention to it, it would start to move in random directions. And in his state of early hangover, he really didn’t feel like arranging any of his foundations back, or worse. He remembered he needed to take out his badges to show to the security at the employee entrance, therefore he opened the top button of his overcoat and slid his hand in the secret pocket.

“Good morning.” Seungkwan greeted once he got in front of the bodyguard, handing over the documents.

After less than a minute that felt like forever to Seungkwan, the guard handed back his paperwork and opened the door. He muttered a quick thanks, then tried to carefully get his suitcase over the threshold. Seungkwan got his phone out of his left pocket and checked the text from one of the group’s managers for the day who sent him the details just as he left his house. He had to look for room number 7.

After a left turn, he walked by a closed door and another open one, with a big ‘6’ plastered on it. He walked around it and finally arrived in front of door number 7, which was closed. Seungkwan was a mannered individual, therefore he knocked 3 times in quick succession and waited for a response. When he heard a muffled ‘come in’, he pressed the door handle and wiggled alongside his suitcase in the room. He scanned the room for a quick second before he bowed deeply to everyone else in the room.

The backroom was a pretty standard one. The make-up booths were at the opposite side of the entrance and a couple of the booths already seemed occupied by the make-up artists’ products. It was still not messy as the members of Exo and their management seemed to not have arrived yet. However, their stylists and hair stylists already did, judging by the clothes racks on the left side of the room. As of now, there were a total of 9 people in the room, all women. They were either chatting with each other, checking some paperwork or unpacking their own suitcases.

“Good morning. My name is Boo Seungkwan.” he introduced himself. Those moments after stating himself were always the most awkward, as he never knew whether he got the right location and he didn’t make a fool of himself.

“Yes, good morning. My name is Song Yoona, pleased to make your acquaintance.” the woman who approached him, whom Seungkwan presumed was the manager, said then bowed her head.

“So, you are the make-up artists that is staying with us the whole day, correct? To do retouches and all.” Seungkwan nodded. “Lovely. Well, please do make yourself feel at home here. I’ll give you all the details in 10, alright?” she informed him, after which she exited the room.

Ten minutes were a lot of minutes. Seungkwan walked to the booths and left his suitcase next to the chair in the right corner of the room. He then turned around and walked to the other door visible in the room. After opening it, he entered the bathroom and went straight to the sink. His head started to throb, therefore he figured some cold water to his face might help. Seungkwan splashed water on his face and then looked in the mirror. He didn’t see his reflection clearly and he had no idea if it was because of the alcohol or because the mirror was dirty.

He exited the backroom and went to look for a coffee vending machine. He found it fast at the end of the hallway. It was an Illy one, which he was grateful for, as the coffee might not be that bad. He fished for his wallet in his secret pocket, looking at the options he had. He decided to go for a double espresso to wake himself up. After Seungkwan inserted the money, he selected the desired option, the machine starting to buzz almost instantly.

Things were a bit hazy for Seungkwan as he was waiting for his coffee. His vision started to suddenly get foggy, a state of drowsiness overcoming him. Seungkwan blinked his eyes quickly a few times, placing his hand against the coffee vending machine as support so that he wouldn’t fall. He could feel his hangover coming, and he knew he won’t like it one bit. Thank goodness he decided to pick up a couple of pills from his cabinet at home and put them in his coat.

As soon as the machine pinged, indicating the coffee was finished, Seungkwan took it and inserted another thousand won, this time for a cappuccino. After the new order started, he downed the double espresso in a few big gulps, while also taking his pills. Seungkwan shook his head, feeling himself suddenly energized. He looked for the bin next to the coffee machine and dropped the empty cup in it. He yawned, covering his mouth with his left hand while waiting for the cappuccino.

Once the vending machine finished his cappuccino, he rushed back to the backroom to get started on unpacking his suitcase. Seungkwan had to at the very least get most of his brush cases on the table, as well as some eyeshadow palettes. It was necessary so that he wouldn’t have to make the client wait for ages while he was scrambling to find a very specific brush to blend.

After putting his three cases of eyeshadow brushes, his case of face brushes and his trusted custom eyeshadow palette on the counter in his designated space, Seungkwan relaxed. The essentials were where he needed them, therefore he could take his time to take out everything else.

“Alright, can you please come here? I need to brief you on today’s business.” the manager announced, making everyone drop whatever they were doing and move to sit around them.

“Great. So, the concept for this comeback is broadly about the clash of two alter egos, and today we will represent their dark alter-egos. I will give you some short descriptions of what our team came up with in terms of looks.” She put across, starting to hand out papers to everyone gathered around.

Finally, the manager was left with only one set of papers held by a paper clip. “And lastly, Boo Seungkwan. As you will do the retouches, I also attached the descriptions of the other members so you can guide yourself if the need arises. Today you’ll do the make-up of Oh Sehun. His description is on the first page.”

Seungkwan nodded, taking the papers and turning back to his station. He leaned against the counter as he started to skim through the other descriptions before his eyes finally landed on Oh Sehun’s. He read it carefully, already picturing what shades he should be going for. It wasn’t anything extremely dark, but he noted that he was free to use black eyeshadow. In addition, the next page was a photo from the music video for this comeback, which was to serve as guidance for the make-up look.

It was around 5:35 am when the backroom door opened and people started flooding in. Suengkwan stopped scrolling on a trending topic on Twitter and put his phone down. He bowed his head to everyone who entered, as they were all for sure his seniors. Once the door was finally closed, he turned around and started to sanitize his brushes. He hated those minutes when he would just wait for everyone to find their place in the room so that they could get work done.

He had about an hour to finish the make-up look, as Exo had rehearsals from 8 to 8:30 am and he needed to also give enough time to the hair stylist to do their job. That was a good amount of time if anything went south. After the rehearsals, he knew a couple of the members had other schedules, therefore he would have to retouch their make-up when they came back to the MBC Studio. The others were presumably going to stay behind, which was not always the worst thing. Some idols were very funny and would tell the craziest stories about things that they read about or they saw in a documentary. Other idols were into discussing recent matters that were happening in society, although in a reserved tone. Seungkwan understood they generally walked on thin ice, especially when their words happened to fall on foreign ears they could not trust.

Just as he finished cleaning his favourite blending brush, a tall man with jet black hair approached him. He was dressed in a black shirt and a gray cardigan, nothing over the top as it was still too early in the morning. Seungkwan bowed his head, then quickly put his brush and the small towel he dried it with on the counter, after which the man also bowed his head.

“I am Oh Sehun. I think you are my make-up artist, right?” the man inquired.

“Yes, yes. I am Boo Seungkwan. It is my pleasure to work with you. Please do have a seat, I’ll be back in just a moment so we can get started, alright?” Seungkwan nodded a few times quickly, clasping his hands together.

He left for the bathroom, making a beeline for the door. People already started milling around, getting their job done. As he entered the bathroom, he saw another make-up artist already there washing their hands. He waited for her to finish up, then took her place. Thankfully, the didn’t close the tap and so he didn’t have to worry about that. After washing his hands thoroughly, he put his hands under the hand dryer and kept them there, turning his hands around to make sure everything was dried up. He exited the bathroom and went back to his counter, where Sehun was sitting in the chair, phone in hand scrolling through what Seungkwan presumed was a group chat.

Seungkwan put one of his hands on the counter, leaning against it. He felt both slightly fatigued and dizzy from the onset of hangover. He grabbed the cup with his cappuccino and took a mouthful of the drink. He really should consider switching to water, but first he had to make sure he was caffeinated enough to even stay awake and not collapse. He tried his best to stifle his yawn, gritting his teeth. Seungkwan then turned around, stretching his hand to grab his trusted cleansing gel.

“Alright. I’ll get started now. If you need any breaks at all, please do let me know, okay? Also if you need anything, do let me know.” he stated. Sehun nodded, closing his eyes.

He opened the tube, pouring some gel on his fingers. He applied it on both of his cheeks, then started gently massaging his face with it, making sure it got into all crevices in order to smooth them. He then grabbed a wet towel he prepared in the bathroom and started tapping it just slightly across Sehun’s face and neck, making sure all the gel was off his face. As his client’s face was drying up, he took a closer look at his complexion and turned to his suitcase, crouching to open it again. Seungkwan then unlocked his foundation case and glanced at the options in front of him, which were expansive. He swiped his tongue across his teeth a few times in concentration, then picked four foundations shades that were in the same range, but different tones. He got up and placed all of them on the counter.

“Could you please turn your head to the left? I need to shade match you.” he informed Sehun.

Sehun nodded, following his instruction. Seungkwan grabbed each foundation, opened it and scooped a tiny amount of each shade with one of his metal spatulas, then dipped his finger in the shade and made a straight line from just above his jaw to the middle of his neck. He placed the swatches side by side so that he could have a good comparison. It seemed that the neutral-toned shade was the best match, however it looked a bit too grey and might have made his face look lifeless. Therefore, he decided to go for the second-best option, a cool toned shade. He grabbed the wet towel again, this time turned on the other side and gently swiped at Sehun’s neck until all the foundation was gone.

Seungkwan dropped the towel on the counter and scanned the items on the counter. “What type of complexion do you have, mr. Oh?”

“Please call me Sehun. And normal with an oily T.” he replied, opening his eyes.

Seungkwan gave him a thumbs up, then went back to his suitcase, putting the foundations he didn’t need anymore back and he picked up a small primer tube that he used specifically for clients with an oily T from Benefit. After he got back in front of Sehun, he caught him staring at his face as he was trying his hardest to open the primer jar, but he seemed to have closed it the last time he used it a bit too well. Or maybe it was the hangover.

“Need any help with the jar?” Sehun asked, pointing at the primer. Seungkwan shook his head, using all his might to move the cap. He somehow managed to do so, finally opening it up.

“Rough night last night?” Sehun remarked as Seungkwan placed the cap on the counter and started applying big dollops of the primer on his cheeks, his nose, two spots on his forehead and his neck.

“You could say that.” Seungkwan responded, gently starting to rub the primer in his skin in circular motions.

Sehun closed his eyes, smiling on the inside. So, he could be a chatter. Finally, something interesting to happen to him during these promotions. “What transpired that made it rough, then? Too many drinks?”

“Not really, actually.”

“Then what was it then?” Sehun probed further.

“Well.” Seungkwan started, moving to grab the Benefit primer, applying the cream on his nose and forehead with calculated moves.

“I went on a pub crawl since exams are coming up. To unwind, right?” Seungkwan noted, moving his hands around before he cleaned them with another towel he had around.

He opened the foundation, lifting his tray for liquid cosmetics to drop enough of it to cover Sehun’s face with a first layer. After this, he picked up his trusted foundation brush from MAC and dipped it in the foundation, which just so happened to be also from MAC.

“Turns out, the crowd I was with was questionable at best. We end up at Le Fumoir. You know the spot, right?” Seungkwan stopped from stippling the product into Sehun’s skin to let him nod, then went back to doing it. “So, I decide to disappear. Just my luck, one of my brother’s mates finds me there. My brother was at a lounge upstairs. So, I go upstairs and drink with him and his mates till later in the night.” He explains as he finishes up applying the first layer of foundation.

“Anyone interesting at the table?” Sehun probed.

“No.” Seungkwan answered, trying to stop himself from yawning as he prepared foundation for the second and final layer.

Sehun raised his eyebrow at him, completely unimpressed at the blatant lie. Seungkwan was far easier to read than he thought he was, especially because he was hungover and wore his emotions on his face.

Seungkwan sighed as he started applying the second later. “Okay, yes, there was someone interesting there. They were quite interesting, frankly. Like really cool.” He added.

He felt that, for some reason, he could trust Sehun with this sort of information, even though he tried to keep everything as vague as possible. Word spread around fast, especially among staff members who felt like talking nonsense during a cigarette break. There were rumours about Sehun that made Seungkwan believe they were playing for the same team. Therefore, he could give him this type of information, although vague, and not have it spread around. People like him and Sehun based themselves on discretion.

“I sense there is a but there.” Sehun commented as Seungkwan applied concealer under his eyes. He asked Sehun to look up so he could blend it well under his eye.

“They didn’t ask for my phone number at the end of the night. I guess they weren’t as into me as I was into them.” Seungkwan sighed. “Well, it happens. It is what it is.”

Seungkwan turned around and picked up his translucent compact powder and the biggest brush on his collection to set everything. Sehun was deep in thought, thinking about what Seungkwan just told him. Something was not clicking in the story.

“Close your eyes, please.” Seungkwan instructed him as he started brushing his face to set it.

“Well, it is truly unfortunate that they didn't give you their phone number. However, I think your friend might've been so mesmerized by you they completely forgot how getting to know someone better works. Happened to me before. Time just doesn’t feel the same and you simply forget your own head.” Sehun disclosed.

“You might be right” Seungkwan replied, starting to do light contouring of Sehun’s face. He still had a good 40 minutes to finish up the look. “However, I might never meet them ever again, unfortunately.”

“Well… I feel like the universe might just like the two of you. Call it intuition. But I feel like you will meet them again.” Sehun responded mysteriously, a serious look on his face.

***

After Mingyu ended the Sunday call with Seungkwan, he took out his airpods and placed them next to his keyboard. He then grabbed his studio, noise-cancelling headphones and placed them around his neck. He knew visitors were on the way, so he could easily miss the ping of the intercom.

Seungkwan was raving about how he adored working with Exo this weekend for music shows, how lovely everyone, especially the members, have been and how much he reveled in the praises given not only by the clients, but also by the managers. Mingyu just loved hearing his little brother talk his ear off about the things he enjoyed, as he did the same and Seungkwan met him with the same reaction.

His water flask seemed to be empty, so he got up from his chair and went to the kitchen to fill it up with tap water. Since he was working a lot on the computer without moving, he made it a habit to always have a water flask next to him so that he could hydrate. After he placed the now filled flask on his desk, he then decided to go to the balcony to grab a smoke.

He was waiting for Vernon and Jihoon to arrive so that they could work on the tracks that were meant to be part of Seventeen’s next album. While nothing was set in stone about them, he hoped there was at least a rough draft of what they were working with. He always worked better with a rough draft.

Mingyu did not particularly seek to get into the position he is in now, but it somehow happened and he was pleased about it in retrospect. About 5 years ago, he lost a bet with his good friend Wonwoo, who was en route to become an idol. The punishment was to upload one of his rap tracks on streaming websites for all to see. Neither of them had expected Mingyu’s track to gain so much traction. It became an overnight hit, and in turn Mingyu turned overnight from an average final year journalism student to one of the hottest artists of the year. After graduation, he decided to respond to one of the many agencies who scouted him and e-mailed him incessantly and signed with them as a rapper/producer. Since then, things have been going well. Mingyu’s popularity has risen, his albums were successful, he had many guest appearances on variety shows and many of the songs he produced for other people were very successful.

In turn, fame has opened to him a new type of friendships, mainly those with idols. While they were private and brief as public persons, idols were quite vibrant individuals outside of their 9-5 job. Wonwoo was still a close friend of his, even though he was now an idol in a group named Seventeen and his time to hang out with mates was severely limited. Mingyu was friends with his groupmates, as well as many idols whose company enjoyed greatly. In hindsight, they were caught in the same big bubble which was always under public scrutiny. And after all, who else could understand one better than a person in the same situation?

The intercom buzzer went off, and Mingyu pressed the cigarette filter in the bowl he had on the balcony. He went to the door and looked at the screen attached to the intercom. Two familiar faces were waving his hands the camera. Mingyu buzzed Vernon and Jihoon in, unlocking his door. He fiddled with his fingers as he waited for them to go in the elevator and get to his floor.

Mingyu heard three knocks in quick succession, which meant they were in front of the door. He opened the door wide and looked at his two mates. Both of them had backpacks with them, which only meant serious business. Vernon was wearing a beanie and a baggy T-shirt he could spot because his jacket was open, while Jihoon had his coat fully buttoned.

“Hey!” Mingyu greeted both of them, clasping their hands with each of them and tapping them on their backs as he welcomed them in his house.

Jihoon set to put his coat in the hanger, while Vernon decided to start off by taking his boots off. Mingyu leaned against the wall, waiting for them to get comfortable. “Do you guys want anything? Tea? Coffee?”

“Coffee is fine by me.” Jihoon responded, rummaging through his backpack. “Also, for you.” he added, stretching his hands towards Mingyu, holding a wine bottle.

Mingyu bowed, taking the wine bottle from Jihoon and setting off to put it on the counter in his kitchen. In the meantime, Vernon shouted “I would like coffee too, please!”

Hoping that Mingyu heard him, Vernon put his coat in the hanger, picked up his backpack and went in the studio room alongside Jihoon. He had some notes regarding a couple of tracks he wanted to check with Mingyu. However, his lyrics were not at the forefront of his mind right now. Seungkwan was. Seungkwan who he forgot to ask for his phone number. Seungkwan who was equally interesting as he was gorgeous and myserious and just everything Vernon wanted.

And now he was stuck in a studio room with the very man who might just get him back on a lifeline regarding the new crush he seemed to be harbouring.

Jihoon just finished opening his laptop when Mingyu entered the studio, two mugs in his hands. He placed them on the desk, as close as possible to the chairs Vernon and Jihoon were sitting on.

“Here you are. Now, what did you guys bring?” Mingyu queried.

For the next half an hour, they discussed melodies Jihoon came up with, alongside some ideas of how to enhance them in order to make a basis for a new track. So far it was going well, the conversation and ideas were flowing between the three of them, piecing themselves together. However, Vernon was still fidgeting, waiting for an opportunity to ask Mingyu about Seungkwan.

And so the opportunity arose, when Jihoon needed to freshen up in the bathroom because his face was too red. He left the studio, which meant only him and Mingyu there. After he took a sip from his coffee, he decided to break the ice.

“I was wondering if you could help me with something.”

Mingyu raised his head from his phone, arching his eyebrows. “What?” he inquired, voice neutral.

Vernon took a deep breath. “Could you, maybe, please give me your brother’s phone number?” he requested, stumbling over his words.

Mingyu furrowed his eyebrows, looking visibly confused. Why, out of all the people he knew, would Vernon ask for his brother’s phone number? While Vernon had solo projects and events, he generally went without any make-up. Therefore, he had no clue as to what might be the reason he asked for his number.

“Seungkwan?” he responded. Vernon nodded a few times quickly. “Why?”

A simple question, but a very complicated answer for Vernon. How could he explain what he has been feeling for the past two days to his mate? The amount of regret he felt from the moment he realized he didn’t have Seungkwan’s number and therefore no means of communications with him? It was complicated.

“I really liked chatting with him the other night and I want to chat more with him.”

Mingyu paused, albeit briefly. This was interesting. Vernon was smitten with his brother and now he was trying to get him to do the thing Vernon was incapable of doing, which was obtaining his brother’s phone number.

“You mean to chat him up. I see. Fair enough.” Mingyu concluded, then unlocked his phone and started scrolling through his texts again.

The conversation was left hanging as Jihoon came back, fully refreshed and ready to work on music. They were recording new parts, making banter and all in all just having a chill Sunday afternoon while also putting in the work. Vernon was still a bit uneasy, waiting for another opportunity to hopefully get what he wanted.

Fate was working in Vernon’s favour, as Jihoon’s phone pinged off a couple of times, then started vibrating. He excused himself, stating that it was an important call he had to take. After Jihoon exited the room, Mingyu was back on his phone, texting someone. Vernon assumed it was Wonwoo, since every time he asked Wonwoo back at the dorms who he was texting he would answer ‘Mingyu’.

“So… can you?” Vernon broke the silence.

“What?” Mingyu asked, not taking his eyes off his phone.

“Give me his phone number.”

“Sadly, you’re barking at the wrong tree. Can’t do it, sorry.” Mingyu asserted, his eyes still glued to his phone.

To say that Vernon was upset was a massive understatement. “Why not?” he demanded.

Mingyu sighed audibly, placing his phone face down on the table. He stretched himself on the chair, letting a short yawn out.

“Well, two reasons, actually.” Mingyu started, placing one of his arms on the table, looking straight at Vernon. “One, Seungkwan is a freelancer with a business card.”

Vernon raised an eyebrow. “Meaning?”

Mingyu responded. “Meaning, he has two phone numbers. One is for business, one is for private life. It’s up to him which one you get.”

Vernon looked unconvinced so far. “And the second reason?”

“My brother and I are close. We don’t see each other daily, but we chat daily. Even so, I don’t want to stop on his toes. His business is his business, my business is my business. He would take no suggestions from me. I am the same.”

“What does that have to do with you giving me Seungkwan’s phone number?” Vernon asked, just slightly exasperated by this whole mess. He just wanted one thing, and he knew it was so close to him.

“I don’t want to overstep my boundaries. I’m not Cupid, Vernon. It’s only up to you to get his phone number, because you are not getting it from me, alright?” Mingyu responded, bemused by poor Vernon’s behaviour.

Vernon stopped, then took a long sigh. He was so tired of this and Mingyu would not budge on his decision.

“Okay, fine. Any advice to get to Seungkwan?”

“Good luck.” Mingyu replied, giggling.

Just then, Jihoon returned to the room, saying goodbye to whoever he was talking to on the phone. Vernon had to resign himself to the fact that the ball is back in fate’s court. He just had to trust it then.

Because he was not the only one who wanted to meet Seungkwan again. Seungkwan wished to meet him again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone! This took me just slightly more than anticipated, but I had a long week. I hope you enjoyed this chapter and I hope to publish a new one soon.

**Author's Note:**

> Well hello there, reader. This is my first piece of writing on AO3. However, I have written before, and I have been on quite a long writing hiatus due to life happening, so it might take a while to adjust my writing to a good writing style. Just as a fair warning, this fic will contain A LOT of Idol cameos because I have A LOT of biases and oh well. In addition, it will be very self-indulgent, because I need all the feels in my life. Hopefully I can post pretty soon a new chapter, as I have plenty of ideas and a lot of time on my hands. I hope you enjoyed this fic so far.


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